Personal Backup vs Enterprise Backup – What’s the difference?

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There’s no denying it – the modern world relies on data and anyone who knows anything about data also knows how important it is to back it up with backup and recovery solutions. A lot of people use cloud environments for their most precious data, but when it comes to organizations, more and more are opting for an enterprise backup solution.

As the name suggests, these backup tools are geared towards enterprises. And seeing as how a significant data loss could bring a lot of issues to the company, it’s always good to have a backup plan. 

However, some businesses still rely on personal cloud backup so that begs the question – which one should you use?

Personal Backup Solutions

Personal backup solutions are solutions that come with a wide range of features, allow you to sync your devices, and share and access files and data, which makes them sound like regular cloud services. But what makes them different is that they use network-attached storage devices in a virtual environment.

Cloud storage solutions have become extremely common in today’s day and age, one of the most popular being Google Drive. It comes with ample storage space, multiple integrations, and a sizable 15 GB free tier, which makes it a popular choice among many people for personal storage.

However, Google Drive is a traditional cloud storage service. While it does have its own benefits, it isn’t what everyone is after. Some prefer alternatives that give them a bit more freedom and don’t cause them to completely rely on the internet when using their recovery software.

An excellent alternative to Google Drive is ElephantDrive. It is a single solution with a plethora of great features such as automatic file syncing and 256-bit AES encryption. Most importantly of all, it provides you with NAS backup software that comes with secure backups that can handle an enterprise workload and ensure uninterrupted business operations.

Why choose a personal backup solution?

Opting for a personal backup solution comes with a plethora of benefits, especially for those who want to use their own hardware. Device synchronization is much faster, you will have better privacy assurance, and creating a storage system doesn’t come with huge overhead costs.

It’s also important to note that there are some disadvantages to having personal cloud storage and using it as a database backup. The biggest disadvantage is that your storage units are always susceptible to theft and damage so if you aren’t careful enough, you could use all of your data.

However, that doesn’t have to be the case for everyone who is using NAS. Network-attached storage is growing in popularity for both businesses and individuals and if you aren’t using this type of storage, you should definitely consider it.

As long as you learn how to find the best cloud backup for your NAS, you can enjoy all of the benefits personal backup solutions bring without having to worry about the disadvantages. Just make sure to create the perfect ElephantDrive NAS backup strategy that fits your needs.

Enterprise Backup Solutions

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While personal backup solutions can be used by both individuals and organizations, businesses often opt for an enterprise backup solution for their corporate data backups.

These solutions utilize both computer software and hardware to transport data from its primary storage device to a secondary backup device. And with the right enterprise backup strategy, you can perform even the most complex backup while enjoying cloud data protection.

The need for enterprise backup solutions in virtualized environments keeps increasing as does the production of data and the consequences that come to companies that experience data loss. As much as 93% of companies that experience a major data loss and don’t have a plan for recovery will be out of business in one year.

What makes enterprise backup and recovery solutions special is that they were designed to act as a security measure that keeps an entire enterprise safe when it experiences a major data loss. The secondary backup device we mentioned earlier is responsible for ensuring the organization can recover its mission-critical files.

Enterprise backup solutions aren’t fit for all businesses, but they are a good choice for businesses that produce a lot of data. If that’s the case for your organization, let’s take a look at some of the features you should look for in an enterprise backup solution:

  • Scalability that allows you to back up all of your new data, regardless of whether you’re performing differential backups or incremental backups.
  • Compatibility with all of the other solutions and native integrations your business uses.
  • Top-notch ransomware protection that ensures continuous data protection.
  • The ability to protect a multi-cloud environment with a wide variety of security features.

Ideally, you should find a provider that specializes in backup and recovery solutions as most of them offer everything a corporation with growing amounts of data needs. Superior enterprise backup software will always give you secure backups and make enterprise data backup a breeze.

Why choose an enterprise backup solution?

  • A lot of organizations choose an enterprise backup solution because they generate massive amounts of data which can often lead to a data deluge. And due to this deluge, companies often bring in more data than they can physically store on-site.
  • Another reason why businesses opt for enterprise solutions is that they utilize multiple cloud-based and offsite servers which help you bypass most protection challenges. This creates a data sprawl which makes it hard to keep track and organize all of the data, which isn’t an issue with multi-protocol support that comes with enterprise backup.
  • Finally, we need to talk about ransomware threats. Ransomware can happen at any time to anyone and 68.5% of businesses worldwide were victimized by ransomware in 2021. If you use an enterprise backup solution, you won’t have to worry about losing your data when you have enterprise-grade data protection.

Difference Between Personal And Enterprise Cloud Backup

There are benefits to both types of backup solutions, so which one is the right choice for your business? To get a full picture and make an informed decision, you need to know what sets personal and enterprise cloud backup apart.

Personal in-house backup

  • Gives you physical control over your backup and requires you to invest in the hardware and infrastructure.
  • Allows you to keep all of your data in-house and doesn’t rely on an internet connection.
  • Leaves you susceptible to data loss during natural disasters or any issues that may happen in-house such as floods or fires.
  • Data recovery time might take a long time depending on the system you use.
  • It’s cost-effective for small and mid-sized companies that don’t require a lot of storage space.

Enterprise backup

  • Doesn’t require any hardware and allows you to add on as much storage space as you need.
  • Requires you to have an internet connection whenever you need to access your files or back them up.
  • Keeps your data safe in an off-site location.
  • You can access instant recovery with the right solution.
  • It’s a great choice for businesses with a lot of data or businesses that plan to scale over the upcoming months or years.

At the end of the day, while both have their pros and cons, only you know what the best choice for your business is as you are the only one who knows what your business needs.

When Do You Need Enterprise Backup?

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No matter how careful you are and what you do to protect your data, at one point or another, it will be at risk. The question you need to ask yourself is how well your business can operate and if it can do so at all without this data.

The answer, most likely, is that there’s at least some data without which your business would be in a lot of trouble. And although you can’t always protect your data from these risks, you can always make sure it’s safe in an off-site location and can be used for multiple recovery operations, even disaster recovery.

At the end of the day, knowing data is safe and easily accessible is something every responsible business owner wants to know. With the rise of hacking, ransomware attacks, and malware infestations, it’s good to know you always have a backup you can count on.

The Bottom Line

As the business world increasingly relies on data, so does the number of malicious hackers who try to break into systems and corrupt that data. And regardless of how much you try to keep your data safe and ensure business continuity, that can’t be guaranteed.

Running a business without backup software solutions is inconceivable nowadays. The question here isn’t whether you should use a backup solution, it’s what type of solution you should use. Now that you know the difference between personal and enterprise backup, you can make an informed decision.

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